A very fine 1890 re-issue by Deraedemaker of J. Valentine's 1853 anti-slavery, abolitionist cover issued in the immediate aftermath of the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Finely preserved on gray linen, as issued.
The envelope, used by abolitionists to signal their alignment with the cause in their correspondence, is composed of six distinct vignettes arranged across the reverse panels of the mail cover, each depicting central characters and pivotal narrative scenes directly from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, including iconic moments such as Eliza escaping across the frozen Ohio River with her child in her arms, Uncle Tom being torn away from his family at auction, and scenes illustrating the brutality of plantation life alongside moments of spiritual devotion. Interspersed between and around these visual panels are printed abolitionist slogans and moral appeals, including the prominent inscription: "Ye who take freedom from Men how will you answer it to God?"
